Building from the ground up
The other night, I was talking with my daughter, Bailey, who served a brief stint as assistant Lady Dogie basketball coach last season, and we got on the subject of what makes a winning team.
In that convo, Bailey said something that really brought home the key to achieving that success when she said that you have to “pour the foundation before you can put up the walls.”
It’s such a simple idea, but one that truly illustrates what winning teams do. They execute the fundamentals of the game nearly flawlessly.
They make precise passes. They take care of the basketball. They (usually) maintain great shooting form. They keep their spacing on offense. They keep their hands up, rotate, help and recover on defense. They box out and rebound when a shot goes up.
All of these aspects of the game are vital if you want to get the win.
They are the foundation of the house, if you will.
A quick Google search told me that you need the following to build a foundation … boards, a shovel, a wheelbarrow, cement, water, aggregate (gravel, crushed stone, sand) and a trowel.
The first and second steps to creating a solid foundation that will support a structure is to choose the type of foundation you want to build, then to set your footings.
In basketball, this could translate to choosing to dedicate your time and energy to the sport and to begin to build your skills.
The next step in building is to situate and lay down the boards in a planned foundation shape and size. This step relates to learning the rules, learning how to pass and catch the ball, learning how to dribble and shoot, and learning how to play defense.
Step four in creating the foundation is to square and level the form. Here would be where you work on those fundamentals to hone your skills and basketball IQ.
Next you would make your concrete from the cement and water. This would be where you learn strategies for playing basketball on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.
Step six is to pour the foundation. At this point, you put those strategies into action and learn to execute them flawlessly.
Finally, you finish your concrete. This would be where you bring everything together. You can handle the ball well, you make smart passes, you create offensive looks and finish them, you play tough defense and you box out and rebound.
Once the foundation is laid, you’re ready to build your house, and once those fundamentals are honed and automatic, you’re ready to build a winning team.